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Earlier this year, I spent a few hundred words bellyaching about the sorry state of Pittsburgh sports radio. Specifically, the fact that village idiot/local ESPN radio "personality" Mark Madden earned a paycheck to spew invective while making everybody who listened to him dumber in the process.

For me, it was more a therapeutic rant than anything -- Madden generates ratings, and ratings, as we know, trump all. Or so the thinking went. Today, ESPN corporate made an exception:

"We've taken Mark off the air pursuant to our contractual rights," said Josh Krulewitz, the network's vice president for public relations. On his radio show Wednesday, Madden said the following about Sen. Kennedy, who days earlier had been diagnosed with brain cancer:

"I'm very disappointed to hear Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated."

Madden was last heard on his show Thursday, the day before his comments appeared in the Post-Gazette.

For Madden, it couldn't have happened to a nicer jerk.

Late last year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik wrote that Madden was dangerously close to losing his job once the higher-ups in Bristol caught wind of his shtick. (Apparently, nobody at headquarters cares about the backwaters of Western Pennsylvania radio ... until it comes to their attention that some jackass is singlehandedly ruining the wholesome Disney image Bayless, Paige and Smith worked so hard to cultivate.)

Madden agreed to temper his assault on common sense when his job was threatened. That he managed to last another six months is an accomplishment worthy of recognition. So congrats, Madden, for keepin' it real. An entire city (and especially Hines Ward!) thanks you for going away.

Random YouTube Fun: I vote for Tank Abbott to replace Madden who, after watching this video, would do well to get Larry the Cable Guy on the horn.

Earlier this year, I spent a few hundred words bellyaching about the sorry state of Pittsburgh sports radio. Specifically, the fact that village idiot/local ESPN radio "personality" Mark Madden earned a paycheck to spew invective while making everybody who listened to him dumber in the process.

For me, it was more a therapeutic rant than anything -- Madden generates ratings, and ratings, as we know, trump all. Or so the thinking went. Today, ESPN corporate made an exception:

"We've taken Mark off the air pursuant to our contractual rights," said Josh Krulewitz, the network's vice president for public relations. On his radio show Wednesday, Madden said the following about Sen. Kennedy, who days earlier had been diagnosed with brain cancer:

"I'm very disappointed to hear Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated."

Madden was last heard on his show Thursday, the day before his comments appeared in the Post-Gazette.

For Madden, it couldn't have happened to a nicer jerk.

Late last year, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik wrote that Madden was dangerously close to losing his job once the higher-ups in Bristol caught wind of his shtick. (Apparently, nobody at headquarters cares about the backwaters of Western Pennsylvania radio ... until it comes to their attention that some jackass is singlehandedly ruining the wholesome Disney image Bayless, Paige and Smith worked so hard to cultivate.)

Madden agreed to temper his assault on common sense when his job was threatened. That he managed to last another six months is an accomplishment worthy of recognition. So congrats, Madden, for keepin' it real. An entire city (and especially Hines Ward!) thanks you for going away.

Random YouTube Fun: I vote for Tank Abbott to replace Madden who, after watching this video, would do well to get Larry the Cable Guy on the horn.

Re: FYI: ESPN Cans Pittsburgh Radio Host Mark Madden for...

This is great news!! The only thing that would make this sweeter would be to have the Pens do a 180 & come back and win the Stanley Cup. I think the Pens was the only Pittsburgh team that Madden was a fan of. To have Madden have to sit thru the joy of the Pens winning the cup (within days of getting fired) would be karma working her it's best!!

Re: FYI: ESPN Cans Pittsburgh Radio Host Mark Madden for...

After reading the article on the PG website, I have to admit I'm shoked at all the support MM got in the reader's comments section of the article. It's sad, really. Holy crap, people. He said a state Senator should have been assasinated rather than die of a brain tumor and an 8-year-old girl who tragically died at a hockey game "had it coming to her". There was more, but these stand out. He's a classless slob who should have been removed from the airwaves years ago.

Re: FYI: ESPN Cans Pittsburgh Radio Host Mark Madden for...

Originally Posted by proudpittsburgher

After reading the article on the PG website, I have to admit I'm shoked at all the support MM got in the reader's comments section of the article. It's sad, really. Holy crap, people. He said a state Senator should have been assasinated rather than die of a brain tumor and an 8-year-old girl who tragically died at a hockey game "had it coming to her". There was more, but these stand out. He's a classless slob who should have been removed from the airwaves years ago.

Re: FYI: ESPN Cans Pittsburgh Radio Host Mark Madden for...

Fortunately I only had to listen to this moron when we did our annual pilgimage/family vist back to Pittsburgh every year. I would usually end up turning off the channels on the car radio much to the delite of my teenage daughters.

Madden could very easily be Nutsack, cowhersucks and many of the other more obnoxious posters on the Trib board who just throw out negative one liners with absolutely no substance just to get attention.

Him being gone is a good thing for talk radio in P-burgh.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!